Report: Drop in Lakewood Train Traffic Since 1998

Have you noticed fewer trains on the “Nickel Plate” line during the past several years?

Apparently, it’s not a fluke.

LoveLakewood.com reported that five was the most trains that passed through in a single day in a three-month stretch at the end of 2012.

The average number of trains rolling through Lakewood was two, according to the report.

Compare that to the daily average of 34 trains that passed through town prior to a 1998 agreement — between Norfolk Southern and a number of west-shore communities — capping the number of trains at 13.9.

Norfolk Southern was able to reduce the train traffic by moving it to the Chicago line, located south of Birdtown, reported LoveLakewood.com.

For more on the city’s train traffic — including a fancy chart from the final three months of 2012 — click here to read the rest of the story.